Frank Hague

Frank Hague (17 January 1876-1 January 1956) was Mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey from 15 May 1917 to 17 June 1947, succeeding Mark M. Fagan and preceding Frank H. Eggers.

Biography
Frank Hague was born in Jersey City, New Jersey on 17 January 1876, the son of immigrants from County Cavan, Ireland. He worked as a blacksmith's apprentice and a boxing manager before being elected Constable of Jersey City in 1896 as a member of the US Democratic Party. He rose through the Democratic machinery of Hudson County due to his political connections, and he became Sergeant at Arms of the New Jersey State Assembly in 1905. Hague was accused of corruption by his US Republican Party enemies, but his constituents loved him, and he was seen as a reformist Democrat. Hague cleaned up the police force and crushed workers' strikes (including on the Pulaski Skyway), and he used his popularity to become Mayor of Jersey City in 1917, serving in that post for thirty more years. Hague supported New York governor Al Smith against Franklin D. Roosevelt during the 1932 Democratic presidential primaries, but he supported Roosevelt during the 1936 primaries. Hague would eventually form a rivalry with Republican governor Walter Edge, who had previously agreed to share power with Hague; Edge began to take away Hague's powers, and Hague and his cronies were ousted from power in 1947. Hague died in 1956 at the age of 79.